DGCA grounds 14 pilots

While Commercial Pilot Licenses (CPL) of 14 pilots have been cancelled till last evening, more such cases are being studied, DGCA sources said, adding about ten touts have also been arrested in the case.

The move came as the Rajasthan Police unearthed a scam in which a non-existent pilots' training school was allegedly doling out fake records to the aspirants in their bid to secure CPLs.

"Following inputs from the anti-corruption bureau (of Rajasthan) which is investigating the case, we had cancelled the licences of eight pilots. We cancelled another six CPLs yesterday," senior officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.

A person is eligible to fly a commercial aircraft only when he or she secures a CPL, which is given out after a person completes 200 hours of flying during the training.

However, the 14 pilots whose licenses have been revoked had allegedly not flown the mandatory hours and are alleged to have got fake certificates from the Rajasthan flying training institute.

The state police have also arrested two such pilots, who, during the interrogation, allegedly revealed the modus operandi.

DGCA chief E K Bharat Bhushan had recently told PTI that the CPLs of around 10,000 pilots was under the scanner, besides about 4,000 holders of Airlines Pilots Training License (ATPLs).

He had also said that DGCA would conduct third-party audit of all the 40 flying schools in the country in the wake of cases of forgery behind securing of licences coming to light.

Earlier this month, authorities said they had taken action against 57 pilots who had reported for duty drunk over the past two years.